Hello to everyone reading,
I've been a Boy Scout for almost 2 years now (I joined in the middle of freshman year, and will be a junior this school year), and I enjoy the activities greatly, and have grown enormously as a leader both at school and in my family through Boy Scouts. I've been working very hard earlier on with Merit Badges since those are generally more interesting than rank advancements, and recently, I realized I will become an Eagle Scout some time in December of my Senior year, meaning I will not be an Eagle Scout until after quite a number of early decision application deadlines.
Since I've completed over half of the Eagle required Merit Badges, have enough non-required merit badges, and have more than enough community service done, I'm pretty much set to become an Eagle Scout by then (I just need to hold a leadership position throughout the time in between and complete a few requirements). Would there be a big difference between me and an Eagle Scout when applying for colleges, or would colleges treat me like an Eagle Scout since I'll be one in just a few weeks after application deadlines?
Thank you for any replies!
P.S. For those who are unfamiliar with the Eagle Scout process in Boy Scouts, after youāve completed all the requirements, there will be a Board of Review with your Council Leaders, and theyāll have an interview+test with you. This is the last step to becoming an Eagle Scout, and is probably the most difficult. While Iām almost certain Iāll pass it with no problem, thereās always that slight chance of me having to retest (which could take months), which is why Iām asking this question.
I think you can list on your applications that you are on track to qualify for Eagle on Dec.___, 2019 under the activities section.
Will it make a difference in admissions? Probably not if you do indicate the award is pending. Some schools give merit awards to Eagle scouts, and you should be eligible for those.
Donāt forget you have to do a council-approved project as well - thatās a pretty significant requirement!
Good luck on your journey through Scouting! I agree with the advice to state that you are on track. Whether or not it makes a difference will depend on the school. Quite a number of students at military academies have earned the rank of Eagle (or the GS Gold Award). Schools will understand what youāve done on your path to Eagle and weight that accordingly - to some schools itās a big deal, Iāve even seen some smaller schools list the number of Eagle and Gold students alongside numbers for valedictorians, class officers, varsity captains, and the like.
Thank you for the response!
Yeah, Iām aware of the eagle project, and in my troop, we often have council members visit and provide us with various project ideas, such as places in the community where some improvement can be done. For example, recently a council member visited and informed us about how a nearby swim club have members who wanted to have a flower bed build near their pool, and a Star Scout took up that project and got it done and approved.
Thank you for your response, itās very helpful, and thanks for the lookout!
As a parent of an Eagle Scout and the Eagle Advisor for the Troop, I can say that if you are waiting on the Eagle Board of Review by December of your senior year, you can put down Eagle Scout applicant pending successful completion of Board of Review on college applications. As was mentioned by a previous poster.
My advice is to get the merit badges done ASAP. If you are currently Life Scout, get the project done as soon as possible. Standardized testing and AP classes are a hindrance to getting the Eagle project completed.
Good luck!
OP, I would be careful about projects too. The project needs to benefit the community and be for a non-profit, school, government entity, or religious organization.
A flower bed for a swim club would not necessarily be approved by my sonās Troop because a swim club is a private entity and the project does not necessarily benefit the greater community. Unless they host community events, the club cannot have a Scout do something on their behalf. Iām surprised that your district/council approved the project.
Also a Star Scout cannot start work on an Eagle project. He needs to be Life to start.
Also there is no āre-testā or do-over for an Eagle Board of Review. If for some reason the Board thinks that you didnāt fulfill the requirements in any way, you will fail. In that case, you can appeal the decision to your Council or to the BSA national offices.
You can tell them you are a candidate, anf then follow up with an email to admissions for any school that hasnāt given you a decision yet once we actually gain Eagle status.
Agree with previous posters. It has to be a community service that will benefit the local community. Every school Iāve worked for has always had a needs list.
While your working on your merits, you need to already assess where your strengths lie. Woodworking, gardening, community service, etc.
Our elementary school had an Eagle project whereby the student made several bookshelves then asked his scouting community to donate new and gently used books. So far, weāve catalogued 1348 books.
Donāt forget that your age matters.
You should be looking at fundraising for your project. Getting your binder together, Getting your Home Depot letters ready, etc.
@āaunt beaā I forgot about the age part. All Eagle requirements including the Scoutmaster Conference need to be completed before the 18th birthday. The Board of Review can be done after the 18th birthday.
@Hamurtle Iāve completed all of the merit badges that require a ton of time (Personal Management, Family Life, and Personal Fitness), so Iām pretty sure I should be good on merit badges. I just need some of the smaller ones, such as Citizenship in the World, Community, and Environmental Science.
Iāll be finishing up on the SAT in August of this year, and APs shouldnāt be a big problem for me, so Iām pretty sure Iām all set there as well.
The scout I was referring to probably was a life scout who hasnāt received his patch yet. Also, the swim club was part of a local country club that hosts various events throughout the year, so it wasnāt a private organization.
Lastly, I started school a year early, so I donāt need to worry about the age part (Iām turning 18 in college).
Unless your community service project benefits one of the groups or causes deemed worthy by admissions reps, eagle scout will have near zero value to any of the most competitive schools. The only exception are the service academies where they still value things like leadership. If you are applying to academies or schools below the first tier, the advice you received above is solid.
@Huskymaniac: I agree with most of your post, but I wonder whether service academies see leadership or followership in this status. The US Coast Guard Academy, for example, has a required course in followership (unless changed in the past few years).
I think the Eagle Scout actually helped my son get into WashU as it was his primary EC in high school and his Common App essay was about his experiences in Scouting. He may have been an outlier though.
Also, I would be leery of doing an Eagle project for an organization that is not a 501c. Theoretically a country club does not qualify since itās not open to the general public and charges admissions or a membership fee. Plus itās a business and Iām surprised that the project did get approved.
To be on the safe side, the organization has to be a non-profit (church, school, charitable organization). You can check with your local city government to see if there are any projects that can be done.
You canāt lead until you first learn to follow! It is all about teamwork. Remember the days when HYPS cared about student council presidents, sports captains, three sport athletes, HOBY and Boys State nominees? Now they care about me monsters.
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I think the Eagle Scout award is meaningful to admissions and other people when you are able to communicate the skill sets you obtained in the process. S19 was competing for a leadership position and had to give a speech regarding his qualifications. He discussed his Eagle project: his fundraising efforts, garnering support from local businesses, organizing and managing a work force that included adults and kids ranging in age from 11-17. He obtained the position despite some stiff competition. It is hard to compete with the skills garnered from an Eagle Scout project.
But if presented just as a line item, I donāt think the Eagle Scout award really would make a huge difference in admissions.